Interested in getting out of the big city of Zürich and seeing more of Switzerland, we decided to take a day trip south to the city of Lucerne, which is smaller and which appeared to be scenic in pictures we saw on the Internet and in guidebooks. We walked over to the train station and checked the display in the main hall for the next train to Lucerne (there are two per hour). We couldn't help but notice a large, chubby blue angel dangling from the station's rafters. This is a 1997 artwork by the French-American artist Niki de Saint Phalle, called Guardian Angel (L'Ange Protecteur). The style seemed distinctive and familiar to us, and might be familiar to you as well. There are several Saint Phalle works scattered across the world, mainly in Europe and the U.S. We were mostly reminded of her work on the Stravinsky Fountain in Paris, near the Pompidou Center. Unfortunately there won't be any more works, as Saint Phalle passed away in 2002, in La Jolla, California. We headed over to the track where the Lucerne train could be expected and boarded it when it showed up. The trip to Lucerne took about an hour.

Like Zürich, Lucerne is located on a large lake, at the point where a river flows out from it. The lake in this case is known in English as Lake Lucerne (in German it's referred to as the Vierwaldstättersee, or "Lake of the Four Forested Settlements"), and the river is the Reuss (pronounced "Royce"), which flows to the Aare River, and eventually to the Rhine.

The city has been there since 1178, when it was officially established on the site of the Benedictine Monastery of St. Leodegar (founded around 750 by Germanic peoples). It gained independence from the Holy Roman Empire in 1415 and joined the Swiss Confederacy (it's presently the capital of the canton of Lucerne). During the Reformation, many Swiss cities became Protestant, but Lucerne remained Catholic, and remains predominantly Catholic to the present day. As of 2016, the city's population was about 81,500, and its urban area, consisting of Lucerne and towns both north and west of the lake, has a population of around 250,000 people.

Lucerne has a pretty big train station, which is located on the south side of the Reuss, where the lake empties into it. Next to the station, on the lakeshore side, is a large building, called the Kultur- und Kongresszentrum Luzern (or KKL), a concert venue which opened in 1998.

From the station, we walked over to the waterfront, to a point where we could see across the Reuss to the other side, and where we could also see out into the lake.


Looking back toward the train station, we could see a disembodied archway in the middle of the open area in front of the station. Apparently this is all that's left of a train station that occupied the area from 1896 until 1971, when it burned down. The present station opened in 1991.

Probably more interesting is the scenery along the Reuss, starting with the Chapel Bridge, or Kapellbrücke. The Kapellbrücke was originally built around 1365, as part of the city's fortifications. It's the oldest covered bridge in Europe and the oldest surviving truss bridge (made from connecting triangular elements) in the world. It's 672 feet long and supplies a pedestrian-only connection between the banks of the river. Adjacent to the bridge is the 113-foot-tall Wasserturm, or Water Tower, which is 30 years older than the bridge. It's not called the "Water Tower" because it contains water, but rather because it's standing in a river. It's closed to the public, but has been used as a prison, a torture chamber and a municipal archive over the centuries. Along the bridge, in the rafters under the roof, there is a series of triangular paintings depicting events from the city's history, dating back to the Counter-Reformation. Unfortunately, a 1993 fire destroyed two-thirds of the original paintings.




We didn't cross the river at this time, continuing along the south bank. There were additional footbridges.

Continuing along the south bank, we came to the Jesuit Church, or Jesuitenkirche. Construction on this church began in 1667, and it was consecrated in 1677. It was the first large baroque church built in Switzerland. We went in to have a look.








Downriver a short distance from the church, there was another bridge across the river called the Reussbrücke. Looking back toward the lake, there was a nice view of riverfront Lucerne and of the Kapellbrücke.

Downstream from the Reussbrücke, there was yet another footbridge across the river, this one called the Spreuerbrücke (more on this bridge later). But between the two bridges there is an odd-looking arrangement of wood, metal and concrete that appears to be somehow channeling the water for some less-than-obvious purpose. This contrivance is called the Nadelwehr, or Needle Dam. Its purpose is to maintain the proper level of water in Lake Lucerne – all 44 square miles of it! Prior to the introduction of the dam in 1860, there were problems along the lakeshore with flooding at times and with low water levels at others. The dam works by channeling the lake's outflow between several wooden slats (or needles) which can be added to or reduced as needed. There is also an element of the dam, added later, which generates hydroelectric power.


From the Reussbrücke we walked away from the river a little to have a look at another church, the Franciscan Church (or Franziskanerkirche). Outside the church there was a small square, called the Franziskanerplatz, which had a fountain. There was an interesting old car parked by the church, possibly to be used as part of a wedding to occur later in the day. The car turned out to be a Fiat Topolino.


The wedding wasn't happening yet, though, so we went into the church to have a look around. The church was first built in the 13th Century, but it's been undergoing continuous renovation ever since. As a result, architectural elements remain from the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque eras. There are flags painted along the upper walls of the nave, representing accomplishments of 17th Century Swiss mercenaries. The pulpit was created in the 15th Century and is startlingly ornate.



From the Franziskanerkirche we headed toward the Spreuerbrücke. This took us through an older area, and past what appeared to be a reconstructed apothecary shop.

The Spreuerbrücke was like a shorter and newer version of the Kapellbrücke. The Spreuerbrücke was originally built in 1408, but had to be rebuilt after 1566, as it was destroyed by a flood in that year. Like the Kapellbrücke, it also has paintings in its rafters, but these are less cheerful, depicting a "Dance of Death", or Danse Macabre. Part way across the bridge, there's a tiny chapel, maybe for those depressed by the paintings.


The Spreuerbrücke also had a nice view of the Needle Dam we'd seen from the Reussbrücke, from the other side.


We continued across the Spreuerbrücke and finally made it all the way across the Reuss. This took us into Lucerne's Old Town, complete with old buildings and narrow, winding streets. There were some unmistakably modern touches, though.



We headed through the Old Town back toward the lake, eventually arriving at the north end of the Kapellbrücke. We used the bridge to cross back to the other side of the river, near the train station.


We found ourselves near the departure point for lake cruises. This seemed like an interesting idea, so we bought some tickets for a one-hour cruise that was leaving shortly and waited for our boat.